Are Video Games Art? the ultimate question that some people will not recognize and simply dismiss as trash without recognizing it for it's beauty. i wrote a 6 page paper on this and as soon as i find it im going to post it... wrote it a year ago in 10th grade...

feel free to discuss!

also has anyone been in this situation-

you are somewhere playing video games and at the other side of the room people are sleeping/watching a movie.
so someone comes up to YOU and ONLY YOU and tells you that you should be studying and rags on you for like 5-10 minutes and doesent even mention the people sleeping and watching a movie/family guy... oh and watching family guy is sooo much better than playing every extend im sure. at least every extend doesent REDUCE your mental capacity.

merged: 02-08-2007 ~ 09:45am
This paper addresses a question. This question, in the words of Jon M. Gibson, founder of the group art show, I Am 8-Bit, “is as cumbersome as Darwin vs. the Bible” (Gibson). This question is debated by teens and adults, video gamers and people who have never touched any form of controller, and artists of every kind. The question is thus, should video games be considered art? Almost every emerging art form has to go through this dilemma. Abstract art did, movies and television as well, and even the popular instrument the saxophone was met with controversy (Poole, 13). But to address the question of weather or not video games should be considered art, we must first address other questions so that we know what we are talking about. These questions being as follows: What are video games? What are games made of and what goes into them? And most importantly, what is art? After someone has an answer to these questions, then they can ponder the question of games as art. Also it is important to keep in mind why people play video games. What is it about them that make them so popular with so many people, of every race, age, and gender? Someone trying to come to a conclusion about this question should also see what others have to say about it; it could help them form an opinion.

After some bit of time spent thinking and drinking tea in front of my keyboard, I have come to my own conclusion about what a videogame actually is. A videogame is an interactive form of art, which the player plays for fun, leisure, or entertainment, which appeals to multiple human senses and/or emotions, and sometimes grants the player a simulation of the ability to do things which cannot be don’t in reality. A game is interactive; you push the buttons or move a stick and something happens. You have some amount of control over what happens during game play. A person plays a videogame for fun leisure or entertainment; would someone play a game that was absolutely dull and did not entertain the player whatsoever? They probably would not. And what is a videogame without seeing? How would they be with no old timey beeps or, in newer games, speech and well-defined explosions and other sound effects? If you take away one of the senses needed for a game, it is not nearly as useful and will not hold the players attention nearly as well. And then some games even produce emotional feelings in the player. The player can get mad because they cannot win, or sad because their favorite character dies in a plot twist, or happy because the main characters finally express their love. Then there is the part where games are not real, and therefore grant the player the capability to “do” things they cannot do in real life. Such as shoot stuff, and blow stuff up, and drive cars unreasonably fast, or have superpowers and wield magic and fantasy weapons. One small quote from a little book titled Video Games, in a series called “At Issue” states, “game designers have pushed beyond cinema in terms of developing expressive and fantastic environments that convey a powerful sense of mood, provoke our curiosity and amusement, and motivate us to explore” (45). This demonstrates similar qualities to my own theory and helped form it in a way.

Another question that needs to be answered is, what goes into a videogame? What are a video game’s parts? A videogame has several different pieces. These pieces vary by what kind of game it is. In an old classic, Space Invaders, there is the very simple plot, the visual, the audible, and the controls. Very simple in many ways, the plot is there are aliens invading earth and you have to shoot them, or as many as you can; the visual is your ship moving across the screen, the invaders advancing, shields and little dots which represent projectiles; the audible is simply a series of beeps and boops put in an order to represent some sort of music and sound; the controls are move and shoot. This is extremely simple compared to a modern game such as Final fantasy X, in which you have the stunning visual which looks almost real; you have the audible that is often comparable to fine piano music or even rock; you have the characters, each with their own in-depth storylines and pasts, you have the complex plot and character relations to each other; the controls are do-able but much more complex that move around and shoot. Different buttons even do different things in different places. There are often moments, which bring up quite strong emotional reactions and even just awe at the new “aeon,” being an extremely powerful creature, which you can summon to your aid, or new item you have found in the vast 3-dimentional world. Most current games are now composed of such things, and an amazing game for Sega’s Dreamcast, titled Soul Calibur, even has a art gallery where you can unlock different artworks and pictures involving the game by playing it and earning points, and the gallery has 338 pictures, some of which would be impossible to tell were ever in a videogame because they are actually hand drawn.

Now how is a videogame actually made? What skills are needed to make a game? Well according to Steven Poole, “A videogame is put together by highly talented artists and graphic designers, as well as programmers, virtual architects, and sonic engineers” (12). Of course, this is right. The artists draw the game, and the graphic designers “draw” the game virtually along with the virtual architects, then the programmers put it together with the sonic engineers. It is a team effort. “No matter how great your designs are, ultimately it is the skill of the programmers that determines weather they work well in the game.” (The art of Okami 30). That is a quote from a little Q. and A. session about a very unique game titled Okami, and it is true. If they are programmed in the wrong way, things will not work properly in the game. “Video games still need to make use of tricks and misdirections borrowed from painting in order to achieve the dream of fooling the player into believing an imaginary world” (Poole 128). They share the same tricks such as points of perspective, and even shading in some of the newer games that have the capability. So video games and other forms of art have many things in common, and they require some amount of the same skills to achieve their goal. Video games are complex and take many different skills to make, including skills of visual art forms, music, and literature.

Now for the third question, what is art? Art is possibly the hardest word to define in a way people will accept out of the whole vocabulary of the world. Every attempt has had controversy unless it is not nearly satisfactory. “The old meaning, in its widest sense, of the Greek, the Latin ars, the German kunst, implied skill and ability, acquired through patient practice and directed towards a definite end, weather this end be aesthetical, ethical, or useful” (Britannica 440). That is one view of art. Another is from Steven Poole. “The original Greek meaning of “aesthetics” refers to things that are perceived by the senses” (12). Raph Koster states that, “[arts] use a particular medium to communicate within the constraints of that medium, and often what is communicated is, in fact, thoughts about the medium itself” (line 1). I have thought about this for a very long time and mulled it over through two cups of tea and argumentative conversations with my brother. I finally came to a long conclusion for myself, of course referring to the aesthetical meaning of art, not art as in a skill, such as the “art of cooking.” That does not mean, however that cooking cannot be art. Art is any work or any piece that the maker has spent time on, thought about and put effort into, and intended to be art or aesthetical, no matter the form. There are most likely problems with this definition, as there are with every other. But Aaron Smuts wrote a nice little article in which I thought this quote was particularly powerful and useful. “Though one may say that many video games lack artistic value, the same can be said for some products of any art form without calling the whole enterprise into question” (3rd paragraph line 4). He is primarily talking about why videogames are art but one can look at it in such a way that it can save many art forms from ridicule. Some people find it hard to say that some modern art is actually art. I do myself sometimes, and that is where this quote is useful. Just because one piece is not particularly interesting or catching to you, that does not mean that it is not to other people, or that the whole art form will be as uninteresting as that one piece.

Now we have answered all of the questions that could hinder us when we try to answer the main question. Are videogames art? The answer is yes; videogames are art. Jon M. Gibson said in his article, “yes it’s true – the secret’s out – games are interactive unlike every other traditionally acceptable form of art” (40). But in my mind, that just gives videogames a whole new opportunity to achieve the purpose of art. Art is to be viewed, in one way or another. Weather art is heard, seen, felt, or observed in any combination of senses, it is meant to be sensed. Videogames have opened up new opportunities for art, because it is at very many points a combination of two or more senses, so the player gets more input from the art. And the player has influence on the art itself; it can be shaped, how much is depending on the game, to the players liking or skill. In newer games such as KOTOR, otherwise known as Knights Of The Old Republic, a Star Wars game, or Fable, a fantasy RPG, or Role Playing Game, you actually influence the character through your actions in the game. In the case of Fable, your appearance actually changes according to your actions. If you are a good hero, helping and kind, you get a halo and sparks and butterflies. If you are a bad hero, and you go around stealing and killing and kicking chickens, you grow demonic horns and have a black aura. You can even learn new skills depending on what you do and how you act. “[Video games] open up new aesthetic experiences and transform the computer screen into a realm of experimentation and innovation that is broadly accessible” (at issue 45). “The computer is simply a tool, one that offers artists new resources and opportunities for reaching the public; it is human creativity that makes art” (at issue 44). Video games are art, but simply in different forms. If you are an extremely “by-the-definition” kind of person, than recall the definition I gave earlier. “The original Greek meaning of “aesthetics” refers to things that are perceived by the senses. Modern videogames – dynamic and interactive fusions of colorful graphic representation, sound effects, music, speed and movement – are unquestionably a fabulously sensual form….” (Poole 12).

Now this paper is not forcing you to believe that videogames are art. I believe that they are art and I think that it would be great if everybody thought that way and acted like it. I am trying to convince you, but not entirely. I am also simply trying to get you to think. Many people have no views on the subject. To tell the truth, I could hardly care less about what you think about weather or not video games are art, I only believe that you should come to a conclusion for yourself about all the questions in this paper, and if you have the same view as I do than that would be wonderful. I believe that Jon M. Gibson stated it perfectly when he said to finish off his article this wonderful quote. “We should really be asking ourselves the more obvious question: “are videogames art… to me?”” (40).

merged: 02-08-2007 ~ 09:50am
yeah there were some mess ups when i copied and pasted it in but the text is still there. wow... ive improved a lot im my writing in 1 year jeez. not online tho....

Yes, video games are art. They require just as many steps as commonly associated artwork... and more. Besides, the video game must be consistent and even creates its own universe, to the graphics to the plotline to the programs- VIDEO GAMES ARE ART! Try and find something in a museum that video games dont incorporate. For example: proportion laws found in the Renaissance, try head proportion and body proportion... while moving... in a Warthog at high speed... oh yea, I went there.

P.S. Yes, but my situation was a bit different, I was playing one game and someone was playing another and criticized me of having bad choices and corrupting myself. For your situation- VIDEO GAMES STIMULATE PEOPLE, so if anything they help you, not as much as other activities, but movies and shows are useless- unless really good anime (which are always good)... so you are right. Oh yea, awsome name dude.

thank you youre so right. and even tho you believe that they are art, you voted that you are a whale and cannot talk. HAHA my theory was correct that more would vote that than any other.

merged: 02-08-2007 ~ 10:25am
I believe personally that alll video games are art, just as all other forms of art are art. some are obviously not as "good" as others. A game that was made only for money which was turned out as fast as possible without any intent to make it excellent or convey any message is probably crap. I drew some stick figures mutilating each other yesterday in comparative politics class, and i consider it art but it sucks a lot. The game has to be well developed and thoughtful. Just like television and movies, some are just to entertain and pull in money, and others are specially made. Anyone ever read/watched xxxholic? because that is a very artful anime and manga. the art itself is unique, and the subject matter and messages it conveys are superb and thoughtful. Anyone ever heard of meltylancer? exactly. it was not very good. i dont mean to offend anyone i hope you all know. these are my opinions and i would be glad to hear yours even if it's "you suck" because in many ways i do.

Video games most definately can be art, but it seems that the medium isn't taken as a serious artform. Its often excluded from recogntion at art events and its mostly the industry's fault.

While RPGs are story driven, the stories in games are rarely ever of the calibur you'd find in a novel, they simply aren't up to scratch. Likewise many games simply lack polish that prevents them being truly seen as art.

Sure games like Okami and Zelda: The Windwaker are brilliant games that prove that games are art too, but it will take both time and hard work for games to be widely accepted as an artistic medium, and the current game development habits aren't helping that.

very true. The medium was the word i was looking for thanks. The medium of vidoegames as a whole is lesser developed in terms of plot most surely.... Some games are quite good in that regard, incorporating character development, plot twists, a solid storyline, and one thing that I find as more important is making the characters seem human and likable.

I agree with making characters more human and making them likable or mabye making them seem foreign or misunderstood. Very few games seem to do this well at all, Final Fantasy VI did a good job and so did Tales of Symphonia, but take Final Fantasy XII, acclaimed for its gameplay and story yet it still has really poor character development. Its these holes that prevent games from truly being accepted as art.

also every genre has its god games and its bad ones except wrestling because they all stink ^_~

like the burnout series especially revenge, is amazing. its graphics are top of the line, and the gameplay is inventive-not just the usual A is go B is stop and dont hit stuff. it's a notch above the rest in many ways.

I think some video game is and some isn,t.Now,more and more games become
beautifully and have more meanings.I think Final Fantasy is a very good serues.
I think it is a good art.

Many, even some important figures in the industry itself, wouldn't consider video games as a genre of art. Personally, though, I think a video game can be considered art, depending on its quality and innovation. Different forms of media are considered art, so why not video games?

When you consider the amount of concept art, story writing, and graphic and character design that can go into a game, it seems strange that someone wouldn't consider a good game a work of art. It's especially true in cases such as Okami, in which game designers innovate and attempt to push the artistic boundaries possible in a videogame. Some video games are capable of transmitting the emotional complexity that is the root of art, usually through a well done story or by some other method. In such cases these games can and should be considered art.

In my opinion, anyway.

Quote by oldmanpooMany, even some important figures in the industry itself, wouldn't consider video games as a genre of art.

True, and this is probably why video games aren't considered as art, becuase the 'artists' don't see themselves as artist.

NO i dont think it can be an art, at least not like is defined... i love video games, and the work for finish it and all.. but an art is too much. May be some day, after all Movies becmoe the 7th art, maybe some day, video games might be considered the 8th-9th art...

I like what oldmanpoo said and tsphoenix's response. If an 'artist' does not consider his work art, than it is near impossible to accept that it is. When i draw stick figures mutilating each other in chemistry class to pass around the room, i dont consider it art and nobody else does either. But when im messing around in photoshop and make something that looks really cool, i consider it art just as much as modern artists consider their 'expressionistic blobs' art, if you know what i mean-- and dont get me wrong i mean no offense. i like modern art, but for some people, some forms of art are much harder to grasp than others. I was talking to someone and modern art came up as we passed a sculpture made of mangled pieces of rusty metal sticking out of the ground. He was going on about how much he hated the crap that should be in the junkyard as i was blushing and telling him to shut up because the students of the art school were walking by. that must make the artist feel very appreciated and special ne?

yes

merged: 02-11-2007 ~ 12:05pm
u guyses posts are to long i didnt bother readin them

merged: 02-11-2007 ~ 12:07pm
just yes thats the only thing meded in the awnser to this question just yes its the only anwser

merged: 02-11-2007 ~ 12:08pm
as a mater o fact all that i just posted cept fer yes isnt needed

Video games is art from behind the scenes. Now video games wouldn't even exist without the mind of an artist. Thereby games are indeed art, a form of creation. Okami (PS2) and Elite Beat Agents (NDS) are some examples where art is heavily involved. Other 3D artwork like Final Fantasy VII or Silent Hill is the same thing, except it's been polished with a computer. That doesn't mean that it's not art. Drafts were created to create the characters you see in the video game. You can't move them and they won't exist until you draw them. And that is art.

.... that was actually a very good argument that ive never thought of before. kudos!

Well every game has art in it.
But if you want to know if the game is art it's self, then I'd have to say yes... The creator of games don't usually make games because they feel like it (maybe some do) But i'm just saying that the creator gives games a meaning to it, a deffinition. Just like a painting. The audience might not know what it is but to the creator it shows some meaning.

some are just for money.

If I remember correctly art, in an abstract sense, is an expression of ideas. So it comes to mind all of the effort that the musicians, map makers, writers, modellers, and what have you exerting their energies into their products. Henceforth, video games are pretty much ideas translated into digital form (through the minds of the creators), and is therefore art. They could be something innovative and new that has never been done before, or something familiar but with a creative and refreshing feel to it. I guess it ultimately depends upon the audience in question. There are plenty of examples I can list off the top of my head that can generally be regarded as art:

- Sonic, Nights
- World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Warcraft III
- Fate
- Ace Combat
- Vectorman
- Gunstar Heroes, Guardian Heroes
- Street Fighter, Mega Man, Darkstalkers
- Command & Conquer
- Rainbow Six, Splinter Cell, Ghost Recon
- Dance Dance Revolution

The reason why I listed these is that when you see the boxes of the list above on the shelves, you would hypothetically take a glance at it because something from it caught the corner of your eye. Nothing serious, just look and go, right? However, after some consideration, you would probably examine the product in greater detail and pull out a few bucks and try it out, not necessarily because of the art on the box, but because there was something on there that actually caught your attention. It could be because a famous author you recognized took part in the creative process of the game (i.e. Orson Scott Card, Agatha Christie, Tom Clancy, Dan Brown, Larry Bond, Dale Brown), or the creators have given the players something that they could use to create their own scenes, movies, maps, etc. with the creators’ own tools or programs that third party groups developed.

Here's another thing, if video games weren't considered art, why would a lot of colleges and universities bother teaching degrees that concern the medium in question? Why bother having to lay down the requirement of learning about the programs that can be used to create these products? If the idea of video games as art was rejected, then the idea of teaching those degrees would’ve been thrown out of the window. What I’m trying to say is; making video games push the creative processes of people, often in a way where it would bring them not just monetary rewards, but success and recognition for what they’ve created for the audiences.

Quote by frizzledizzlesome are just for money.

And so are some fine art pieces.

I think that video games are more of a craft, a mixture of art & a bunch of other stuff the terms/names of which I can't seem to grasp in my mind right now.

Art is defined as a passive & sensual thing, the artist makes art for the people to sense: see, hear or taste. The audience can only give their opinion without giving changes to the piece of art.

Games (video or otherwise), on the other hand, are interactive, though not in the sense similar to a website wherein you could go wherever you go as you please. In a game, you agree to reach a goal all the while be subjected to various challenges & obstacles. The audience plays out part of the whole as a player & influence changes in the game such as victories & defeats, these things do not exist in art: you can't make da Vinci's Mona Lisa frown, or else it wouldn't be da Vinci's anymore (& the fact that it's highly guarded wouldn't help either) & Mona Lisa wouldn't claw you in the face if you tried (but she could bite, it is after all, her mouth we're talking about).

There are parts of a game that are considerable art such as visuals, sounds, storylines & the like. Though there are non-interactive things in a game that are not considered art such as the rules that come into play when a game is played &, in video games, the source code that makes these rules & only these rules possible.

Thus, I've come to the conclusion that a game is not a piece of art (in it's strictest sense). Rather, art only makes up part of the game. It is the part that appeals to the player's senses & makes the player compelled to play the game.

A HUGE amount of work goes into a video game! Tons of real artists work on the characters, the backgrounds, the items the characters use, I mean, it's amazing. Look at Yoshitaka Amano, he is a widely respected artist in his own right, and he does the original concept art on every Final Fantasy game! I think that video games are a vehicle for art, even if the actual GAME cannot be considered art in and of itself.

Yeah, I bought Okami just a while ago and I, like almost everyone, think that it's the most artistic game I've ever played or seen.

I've thought about this issue for awhile now.
Are video games art? Why shouldn't they be? Sure, at the core of every video game is, well, a game. It's played for fun, and is a game. But why can't it be more than that?

What is art anyway? I've always taken art to be something that tells a story. (writing, music, pictures, movies) Humans are storytelling creatures, and art is the medium by which we do this.Games nowadays almost always have stories now. Even silly games like Raving Rabbids have a story, even if it isn't that deep.

And what of the other definition of art? Things that take skill to create?
I'd be damned if the months, sometimes years spent meticulously creating everything from character models to dialogue to music to controls to programming it all then debugging and testing and whatever else doesn't take skill.

If everything that goes into video games is an art, then it makes no sense that video games themselves are not.

ICO and Shadow of the Colossus.
If anoyone has played, viewed, or have even heard about these two games they are definitely moving art. Gorgeous, simply gorgeous.

If there are different styles (sprites, 3D environment, cell shading, etc.) of games then they have to be called something. Different artistic styles definitely fits video games. I think a lot of people just have an issue calling something that "wastes time" art.

I would also like to say to these critics: What else do you think contributed to the creation of the word eye-candy? I've never heard a great oil painting or sculpture be referred to as eye-candy before, that's for sure.